Y'know, just recently I've been giving the concept of bullet proof vests a great deal of consideration because I'm going to get one for my trip east. I'm not being overly cautious, everyone there has a gun and being a gringo makes you a target for all kinds of horrible ends...

The only problem is they aren't terribly bulletproof.

Or knife proof.

Sure the conventional layered kevlar can stop short barreled pistol rounds but if you're dealing with some of the more exotic pistols like the Czechoslovakian tokarev, they offer no protection at all. The same can be said for any long barreled weapon. That's why in places like Iraq the soldiers use conventional kevlar, with pockets for steel plate or ceramic compositions.

This guy was incredibly lucky to be hit in one of those plates as you can tell by the high pitched thud, the bullet was supersonic, likely fired from an AK47. How lucky was he? These plates only cover a small part of the chest and abdomen with large gaps in between, sure it covers your heart, but if this sniper hadn't have waited until he turned front-on, he would have likely killed that soldier if he shot him in the side.

What's the answer? Faith?

No, how about more plates?

Well, more plates adds weight and heat, it also limits mobility and reduces the combat effectiveness of the soldier. So what's the alternative? There is an invention called "Dragonskin"-
-that supposedly covers you from all directions and could take multiple hits from supersonic weapons. There's quite a bit of controversy surrounding it too, and rightly so I might add. See video.

Yet, no matter how technologically advanced armor can become, very little can save you from sniper rifles, shrapnel, concussion, sonic, bio, radiation, disruption and chemical attacks. What is the future of armor when we consider protection from all these factors?

One of my friends is currently doing his final year uni project and has chosen testing body armour to see if the angle of the sheet has a significant effect on the bullet.

He's spent about two days straight cutting out little squares of plastic to be stuck together and shot at. I helped. Now he owes me time.

That Dragonskin looks the business, I wonder what the big objection is? Do they like losing soldiers?

Sat Mar 07, 2009 6:09 pm

Michael DantonAceOverlordRank: 13

Joined: 06 Mar 2007Posts: 3559Location: Australia.

The dragonskin does look very impressive doesn't it? It's basically a leaf-mail design made up of ballistic plates that are held together with Kevlar. Unlike the protector system that the US army employs which has a rigid plate-mail design; the dragon skin is a flexible unit that offers improved maneuverability and protection from multiple hits.

It's funny that you should mention bullet proof vests as a school project. I remember seeing a story on You-tube where an average student about your age was asked to do something for a science fair and he decided to make a ballistic plate, it's not clear what he did, but the results of this home-made plate were apparently of commercial value as his chemistry teacher and his buddy who is a manufacturer actually went into business together making these things. Who knows where it went from there. Their website looks very swish, but they wanted to know everything except my cup size in order to get into it so I didn't bother... Which of course makes it a lousy design.

For my purposes I won't need hard protection so I'll just go for a discreet 22 layer kevlar job.